Barcelona Coach Confident of Winning La Liga Title after Lionel Messi Hat-trick in El Clasico Victory over Real Madrid

Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino sounded incredibly confident after his team sealed a stunning victory over its arch-rival Real Madrid on Sunday, March 23.

Martino declared that his team was back in contention for the title of La Liga after the massive win. The official Web site of FIFA reported that Martino declaring that the tournament was "not over." He said that the 4-3 result in the match proved that Barcelona was back in the tournament even though they were considered done and dusted by critics. Martin said that the match against Real Madrid was their "last chance" so they did not want to be "left out."

Martino's team was ahead of the game only within four minutes as Barca went ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's team with the first goal of the El Clasico by Andres Iniesta. However, it was a night for the little champion who is often described as the greatest footballer the world has seen in decades. Lionel Messi was all set to prove his class over his arch-rival Ronaldo. Messi not only scored a hat-trick to secure the victory for his team but also became the second-leading goal scorer in La Liga after beating Real Madrid striker Hugo Sanchez's record of 234 goals. The 26-year-old footballer now has to score 16 more to be the leading goal-scorer in La Liga, beating Telmo Zarra's record of 251 goals.

Martin said that it would be "difficult to talk" about Messi. He said that people were often at loss of words to describe a player like Messi who continued "breaking records." Messi delivered every times it required, Martin said. The Barca coach, on the other hand, defended Neymar who was criticised for his performance in the match. Martino said that, even though the Brazilian player did not have the "best game, the turning point where Ramos got the red card was caused by him.

Barcelona, at third spot now, is more likely to finish on the top of the table as it is only one point behind Atletico Madrid who leads the table.

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